Active lifestyles necessitate that those who engage in them constantly be on the go. Good health demands that those participating in such active living imbibe a large quantity of liquids, namely, water and other well known sports drinks. Being on the go, however, often presents the problem of needing to quench one's thirst and yet not having access to a source of liquid refreshment. Accordingly, fluid containers, such as drinking bottles, have been developed to meet such demands of active living and thereby enable those who would not ordinarily have access to liquid refreshment to store, transport, and make use of such refreshments at their convenience.
Often drinking containers used for the storing, transporting and accessing of liquid beverages are made out of plastic. Recently, however, there has been a large amount of publicity regarding the various dangers related to the chemical constituents from which the plastic containers have been made. Specifically, various chemical constituents from which plastic containers are typically made may leach into the liquid contents contained therein. This problem is of special concern where the contents of the storage container is the sole source of nutrition for the subject imbibing the contents therein.
For instance, parents are very concerned with respect to the leaching of harmful chemicals into milk or formula contained in the plastic type bottles that are often used in the feeding of their babies. Specifically, bisphenol A and/or phthalates, which may leak from plastic containers into the liquids (e.g., milk or formula) contained therein, may mimic the growing child's endogenous hormones and are, therefore, considered harmful to growing infants and children.
One way of overcoming this, and other associated problems, is the use of glass bottles. Glass, e.g., silicon-dioxide, as used in the production of glass bottles, is widely known to be inert with respect to the drinking liquids typically contained in such bottles, and is not subject to the same problem of leaching as are its plastic counterparts. A problem with glass, however, is its perceived fragility. Even though a glass bottle may be constructed to be extremely sturdy, there still persist a perception that glass bottles are prone to breaking. Such a perception may prevent the acceptance and use of glass bottles as fluid storage containers for those engaging in an active lifestyle and/or for those seeking the storage, transport, and access to fluid nutrients.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a mechanism that will allow a user to employ a storage container, such as glass, thereby being protected from the harmful effects of leaching that may be present when using plastic storage containers, and yet be free of the fear of the glass container breaking, which often persist in the minds of those engaging in an active lifestyle as well as parents with infant children. The present invention meets these and other such needs.